How to determine the pitch and gauge of your saw chain
When ordering saw chain the following information will assist us in matching the correct chain to your saw.
Pitch and gauge of the chain.
Normally identified as 3/8 (pitch) 050 (gauge) or 325 050 to show a couple of the more popular examples.
* Pitch is the distance measured on center of any three rivets in a row. This distance will most commonly be 1/4″ .325″ or 3/8″.
* Gauge is the width of the groove in the bar that the chain rides in.
Often pitch and gauge can be identified by the manufacturers’ stamp on the side of the “driver” link. (the driver is the part of the chain that travels in the groove of the bar and is hidden when the chain is mounted on the bar). Gently lift the chain out of the bar and inspect both sides of the drivers. There is ofter a number and/or letter combination (e.g. 33 D1) that help identify the pitch and guage.
Following are the more popular sizes that we carry.
* For “dime size tip” carving bars & very small saws.
o 1/4 (pitch) .050 (gauge) (we currently don’t stock the .043 gauge – try a Stihl dealer for that)
* For “quarter size tip” carving bars & small/med. saws.
o .325 .050
o 3/8 .050 LoPro
* For med sized saws
o 3/8 .050
Additionally if your saw is a lesser known brand or a consumer type saw purchased from a hardware/big box type store then knowing the bar mount “style/number” on your saw is helpful.
Click HERE to determine the bar mount style/number using the Oregon bar numbering syster.
(e.g. If your saw is a Husqvarna brand chain saw and if the bar is an Oregon brand bar then the Oregon bar mount style/number is either K041 K095 or A041 for most of the current mid-sized models.
Finally it helps to include the make and model of your saw as well as the make model and length of bar. (Ideally a number+/or letter combination imprinted on side of the “driver” part of the chain the hooked part that travels in the groove of the bar will identify what gauge/pitch of saw chain your chain saw is set up to run).
You can add Comments on the order page to better explain what you’re looking for. We’ll be in touch to verify all specifics prior to running your credit card. As this can get very confusing when in doubt please contact us.
Determining the number of drive links for your chain.
Drive links (drivers) are the part of the chain that travels in the groove of the bar. Drivers look a bit like ‘sharks teeth’ and face into the center of a loop of chain.
There are ‘usually’ twice as many of these are there are cutter teeth.
Chain length is determined by the number of drive links not by the length of bar. (e.g. not all 20″ bars will use a chain the same length thus their drive l
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